Happy Frog and Perlite Mix...Help Needed

hi guys since i couldnt find pro mix and bio bizz mixes in so cal, i've decided it was now or never so here it is, i went to my closest hydro store and was looking for FF light warrior and FF ocean forest, to mix them up and start my autoflower seeds, but they were out of stock, so i asked the guy there what was better for me, i told him i was gonna use 3 gal pots and that i didnt want to transfer my plants from one pot to another, i was gonna use the same pots and same soil from seed to harvest and that i was gonna feed my plants during the whole process ( not the first 2 weeks tho ), so he recommended to get FF Happy Frog and a bag of Black Gold Perlite, so i did, but i forgot to ask him some questions tho, hope you can help me:

1- Should i add anything else to this mix ( dolomite lime, epsom salt, guano ) for the whole process or am i fine with just Happy Frog and Perlite + my bio bizz nutrients ?

2- He told me to get a 5 gal bucket and fill 50 % of it with 25 % Happy Frog and 25 % perlite then mix it and that was it, is this a good way to do it ? if its wrong how should i mix them, what ratios should i use ?

3- i dont know if this information is needed but imma be using bio bizz grow, bio bizz bloom, bio bizz fish mix, GH CALiMAGic and GH Ph control kit

thanks so much in advance

I use happy frog with a few additions.
Using a red plastic party cup.
I add 1 cup of perlite per pot.
3/4 cup lime per pot.
3/4 cup worm castings.

If your water is ph balanced that should put your runoff ph just right.

The other thing is in the future dont bother with light warrior and ocean forest, mix up happy frog and ocean forest in a bag to bag ratio..... Very nice soil less blend. I no longer run soil less with bottled nutes but when I did I amended my hf/of with several things.... kelp meal, alfalfa meal, dolomite lime, a little extra humic acid, a little azomite wouldnt hurt but dont go to heavy on that..... Nothing wrong with guanos either....look for one with an NPK rating that has some of each, not just high N or high P, meaning not one like fox farms guano 0-4-0, one thats a little more balanced. The more variety of amendments the better, just dont over do it, I would usually add 1TBS of each amendment per gallon of soil, so a 5 gallon bucket would obviously get 5TBS's of each amendment...And more importantly the less bio bizz and/or other bottle nutes you will have to splurge on....However the MOST IMPORTANT addition to any soil less mix is worm castings..... no doubt about it... I would add 6-8 cups of worm castings to each bag of soil at least..... Also those amendments can be made into a nice aact tea once a week or so as well....

I would fill a 5 gallon bucket up about 75-80% soil and then 20% perlite, but even thats a lot in 3 gallon containers....you will be watering every day in 3 gallon pots before your plants are halfway done....I think your hydroshop guy will like that because you'll be doing the feed/water/feed or feed/water/water schedule more than likely and by doing that you'll be blowing through bottled nutes like no tomorrow going back buying more when if he hooked you up with some nice amendments, one bottle of each would last your whole grow and then some.......

Check out the veganics cheat sheet thread, I think the basic soil mix I listed above is in there somewhere..... You'll be much happier you amended your soil bro.... fuck just using bottled shit.... its ok to get started.... dont get me wrong but that shop guy is lining you up for the next couple months of buying bottle after bottle of shit you dont need.. I am a fairly new grower as well (started almost 2 years ago using synthetic nutes) and I will never ever use bottled shit again aside from fish or squid in a bottle.... compost tea's and amended soil is where its at..... Or one step up from amended soil...subcools supersoil which I dont think will work so well with autos... it may but it would take some tinkering and I am not that experienced with it yet, however you could do away with the bio bizz completely if you wanted to take the initiative and learn about aact/compost teas and how to amend your soil..... Nothing wrong with starting where you are though, we all start with bottled stuff for the most part so use what you have and tweak it until you get it down.....

Happy Frog Jump Start wouldn't hurt to add into your soil blend it has mycorrhizae and more beneficial bacteria then what Happy Frog has in it to increase your root mass

This all kind of depends. You're going to get several different answers from people here. With Happy Frog I would add some coco-coir, maybe 15-20 percent and maybe a little but more perlite. If adding earthworm castings to it I would definitely add some more perlite, but still only at 10-15% of the total mix. Also dolomite lime definitely.

If you don't plan to transplant at all you're going to need to add a decent amount of lime, and/or use a calcium/magnesium supplement later on and during bloom.

althor said:

I use happy frog with a few additions.
Using a red plastic party cup.
I add 1 cup of perlite per pot.
3/4 cup lime per pot.
3/4 cup worm castings.

If your water is ph balanced that should put your runoff ph just right.

Click to expand...

For a plastic cup 3/4 cup lime seems like way too much.

Also, no need to pH any irrigation or fertigation solution, that is what the lime is for and pH Up isn't really conducive to organics.

2 gallons of perlite to each bag of happy frog.

No need for nutrients until 3rd month or so depending on container size.

I'm using happy frog 70 percent. Walmart perlite 30 percent. It's nice and airy....drains well. Remember no nutes for 30 days.